To: All Metropolitan Golf Writers Association members
From: MGWA Activities Committee (Chuck Stogel, chairperson)
Date: April 27, 2026
Re: Meeting of Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at Echo Lake Country Club, 515 Springfield Avenue,
Westfield, NJ 07090. Phone: 908-232-4141; www.echolakecc.org. Raymond Ferrari, head
golf pro, 908-232-4288, raymond.ferrari@echolakecc.org. Greg Colombo, GM/COO,
ext. 226, greg.colombo@echolakecc.org.
8:00 – 9:15 am: Bag drop, Locker Room, Coffee/Tea service
8:45 – 10:30 am: Practice range, putting green, PXG equipment demo
10:30 – 11:30 am: Inside Presentations: Echo Lake club representative; Steve Weisser, from Rees Jones, Inc., renovations architect co-designer; Christian Brunone, vp-marketing/ brand development, PXG Golf; Megan Munneke, pr coordinator, Dunning Golf apparel; MGWA: Chuck Stogel, Rules of the Day
11:30 – 12:30 pm: Buffet Luncheon
12:30 — 12:45 pm: Assemble at carts, instructions, proceed to starting holes
1:00 pm: Shotgun golf
6:00 – 7:00 pm: Refreshments, Awards
About the Club and Course: Echo Lake Country Club was originally founded as Cranford GC in 1899 in Cranford, NJ, with a subsequent move to its current location and a course designed by Donald Ross that was completed in 2013 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_Lake_Country_Club). The Echo Lake name was adopted in 1921 with the merger of Cranford and Westfield golf clubs. Subsequent architectural work has involved Robert White, Willard Wilkinson and, most recently, RJI co-designer Steve Weisser. The terrain ranges from flat to sloping. Among events that Echo Lake has hosted are the New Jersey men’s and women’s Amateur championships, the NJPGA, the New Jersey and Met Opens, and at the national level, the 1994 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2002 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 2025 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball.
The current course is a par-71 with six sets of tee boxes, ranging from 5,207 to 7,202 yards. The championship rating/slope is 74.8/133. Our Quill & Tee competition will use the Ross tees for men (6,174, 69.6, 123); White tees for senior men 69-and-over (5,739, 67.7, 119); Faxon tees for women (5,207, 70.8, 125).
About PXG Golf: Founded in 2014 by Bob Parsons, Parsons Xtreme Golf (www.pxg.com) is based in Scottsdale, AZ. Besides being an avid golfer, Parsons is an American entrepreneur, billionaire and philanthropist. Among the first hires were former PGA Tour pro and ex-Ping senior product designer Mike Nicolette and, as chief product officer, former Ping director of engineering Brad Schweigert. Now with 70 employees, and player representatives on both the PGA and LPGA Tours, PXG offers a full line of equipment including drivers, metalwoods, hybrids, wedges, irons and putters.
About Dunning Golf: With a full line of apparel and accessories, the company was founded in 2001 by Canadian Ralph Dunning, who had been designing and manufacturing apparel for cyclists. Dunning had a notion that he could bring performance apparel to the golf market. According to the company, “A continued and concentrated focus on the player and what he desires is what inspires our products. Our designers strive not to be better than the competition, but to challenge assumptions about how golf apparel should be built. Their visionary thinking is fused with our proprietary manufacturing processes to create the world’s most technical and versatile apparel. From start to finish, our emphasis is on fit, playability and performance.”
Competition: As always, everyone who wishes is invited to play golf, whether in the competition or not. For those who choose to play in the tournament, golfers must have USGA/GHIN indexes and be members of the MGWA’s Quill & Tee Golf Club. However, everyone playing golf will be eligible for the two Nearest-to-the-Pin contests. Anyone not in the competition may play the tee box of their choosing. Nearest-to-the-Pin contests will be conducted on Holes No. 3 and 17. There will be a wide variety of prizes ranging from golf products to golf shop certificates.
Tournament: The annual Quill & Tee GC President’s Cup will be conducted in two flights. The President’s Cup will be contested with full handicaps adjusted for the Echo Lake course and tee boxes. Individual scorecards will be marked accordingly.
For a list of past President’s Cup winners, sign in to the MGWA website and access Quill & Tee GC.
Caddies: Forecaddies will accompany each golf group. The MGWA fee for a forecaddie is $60 per golfer, which includes gratuity.
Dress Code, Cellphones: www.echolakecc.org/the-club. You are welcome to use locker and shower facilities. Please tip the locker room attendant accordingly. For directions, go online or use GPS.
Entries: MGWA entry is handled online via metgolfwriters.org. Fee for the day is $120. Questions about online entry should be addressed to Robin Sauerhaft, MGWA Client Administrator (914-347-4653; rsauerhaft@mgagolf.org). Entry deadline is 1:00 pm, Thursday, May 14th. No refunds after that date. (NOTE: There is a request on the signup form for your golf shirt size).
Cancellation Policy: Please read the “MGWA Meeting/Outing Cancellation Policy” found under “Meeting and Outing Announcements” on our website (metgolfwriters.org).
Upcoming MGWA schedule:
Monday, July 13th — Montammy Golf Club, Alpine, NJ. Situated just off the Palisades Parkway and about seven miles north of the George Washington Bridge, Montammy GC was founded in 1966 with an 18-hole course designed by Frank Duane. There was a major clubhouse renovation in 1996. The course –par-72 for men, par-74 for women — has five sets of tees from 5,374 to 6,811 yards. The layout features distinctive elevation changes and various ponds to consider; greens are fairly large, with considerable undulation. Renovations are underway crafted by Rees Jones Inc. Guest speakers: Club officials, course renovations co-designer Bryce Swanson from RJI. Tournaments: Quill & Tee Club championship; Quill & Tee Member-Guest.
Tuesday, August 4th — Siwanoy Country Club, Eastchester/Bronxville, NY. Founded in 1901, Siwanoy in 2026 is celebrating its 125th year as a club. The current course, designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1913, succeeded two early nine-holers and sits within the Town of Eastchester and adjacent to the Village of Bronxville. Robert Trent Jones provided renovations to the course in 1952. A 38,000 square-foot clubhouse upgrade took place in 2020. The par-71 course, with numerous elevated tees and compact greens guarded by severe bunkers, has five sets of tees ranging 4,742 to 6,736 yards. Guest speakers: Siwanoy club officials; author Dave Donelson; Golf Heritage Society: George Petro, President, Bill Robertson, Executive Director. Tournament: Quill & Tee Better Ball Championship (with handicaps).
Thursday, August 27th — Preakness Hills Country Club, Wayne, NJ. Founded in 1926, Preakness Hills is proudly celebrating its Centennial this season. The original golf course was designed by Willie Tucker and opened in 1929. It has undergone several renovations over the years, including craftings by Brian Silva in the 1980s and Ron Forse in the early 2000s, and most recently a modernization by Nagle Design Works that produced new and expanded tee boxes, and tree removal. The terrain is moderately hilly, with mostly large greens and water in play on seven holes. There are six sets of tees with par varied at 70 or 72, and the course stretching 5,405 to 6,836 yards. Guest speakers: Club officials, Nagle Design architect (tentative). Tournament: MGWA Team Shootout (with handicaps).
Tuesday, October 6th — Mountain Ridge Country Club, West Caldwell, NJ. 73rd MGWA National Awards Dinner. Gold Tee Award winner, Judy Rankin. Other honorees to be announced.
Tuesday, October 13th — Bethpage State Park, Black Course, Farmingdale, NY. Golf holes will feature final day pin locations from Singles matches in the 2025 Ryder Cup.